Car-fender



(No Model.)

J. W. MADDEN. GAR FENDER.

No. 549,518. Patnted NOV. 12, 1895.

ANDREW EGRANAM, PHOTO-UTHQWASHIN GTON. D C

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES VVHEATON MADDEN, OF BROOKLYN, NENV YORK.

CAR-FENDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 549,518, dated November12, 1895.

Application filed January 31, 1895. Serial No. 36,804. (No model.)

. To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES WHEATON MAD- DEN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing in Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of NewYork, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Fenders forStreet- Railway Cars, of which the following is a specification.

My invention belongs to that class in which the fender projectsforward'in the form of a nearly level platform lying as close to theroad-bed as practicable.

'- The fender is supported on rods extending forward from the truck.Light arms extending across at the front connect to wings lying in theplane of the fender, adapted to spread horizontally when the arms strikea person or other object, and thus reduce the liability of the person toroll under the car-wheels.

An apron stretched upon a frame hinged to the rear of the fender extendsnearly as high as the dashboard of the car and is provided with flexiblestrips attached to the wings, so as to move outward with the latter andautomatically fold back into place when the horizontal wings arereturned.

The fender-platform and the frame may be folded together, and when sofoldedare supported on small wheels,upon which the whole may be rolledto another car or to the opposite end of the same car and again applied.

The accompanying drawings form a part of this specification andrepresent what I consider the best means of carrying out the invention.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device in place. Fig. 2 is a planviewfrom below. Fig. 3 is a front elevation. Fig. i is a rear elevationof the fender alone. Fig.' 5 is an edge view showing the fender foldedand conditioned for transfer to the opposite end of the car.

Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 show details on a larger scale.Fig. 6 is a vertical section. Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section on theline 7 7 in Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a side view. Fig. 9 is a front elevation.Fig. 10 is a Vertical section. Fig. 11 is a horizontal section. Fig. 12is a vertical section through the hinge, and Fig. 13 is an end view.

Similar letters. of reference indicate the same parts in all the figureswhere they appear. r

A is the body of the car.

A is the platform and A the dashboard.

B indicates the truck and the framing inclosing the motor or othermechanism and carrying the wheels B,which support the car.

B B are rods, or preferably tubes, firmly secured to the framing B andextending horizontally forward under the platform A. They are turnedupward at B nearly'as high as the dashboard and carry detaching-hooks13*, attached to nuts B which may be adjusted vertically on the uprightends B of the tubes and secured by set-screws b Helical buffer-springs Bare mounted on the portions B of the tubes between adjustable stops Band a sliding cross-piece B extending transversely of the car andadapted to receive and soften the impact of a blow transmitted throughthe fender.

C is a frame consisting of two upright bars joined at the upper ends byatransverse bar 0, by which the fender is suspended upon the hooks B Thelower ends of the bars 0 are knuckled to receive the corresponding endsof two bars or tubular rods D, extendingforward nearly horizontally andjoined together by a strong wire-netting D, forming the main body orplatform of the fender, and also by a hollow cross-bar D forming thecenter of the knuckles and provided with two small wheels D D mountedadjustably at such height as to bear fairly against the cross-piece l3and reduce the friction caused by slight movements, and also transmitthe shock of impact to the springs 13* and soften the blow to the personstruck.

The front ends of the bars D are screwthreaded and receive nuts Dcarrying pivots cl, upon which are mounted the wings E. The latter areframes triangular, as shown,formed of light tubing bent to shape theinclosed space covered with wire-netting. Guard-arms E,formed by anextension of the frames, curve forward across the front, the endsextending a little past each other and inclosed in a short thiinble ortube F. Each end is provided with a conical rubber plug E which engagesthe rubber plugs and turn the win s E on the centers (1 outward into theposition shown by dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 3, effectually preventingthe person or object struck from rolling under the car-wheels.

The arms E extend outward from the centers (l in a curve of shortradius, as indicated at c, and return again before curving across thefront, forming a guard at those points which striking an object tend toturn the wings, as before described, and throw the object aside and awayfrom the track.

A loop (1, set in the under side of each arm D near the rear, supportsthe wings at these points with liberty to slide freely in and out whenthe occasion requires.

A light red, bent upon itself, as shown, secured to the end of each armD, forms a springrunner D which will strike and slide upon the trackwhen the fender is depressed by any force, preventing accidentaldisplacement and breakage.

G is an apron, of canvas or other strong and flexible material, securedto a cord or small rope stretched across the frame G a short distancebelow the bar 0. It reaches downward and forward to a similar ropestretched between the bars D at the rear of the netting D and serves toprotect the person struck by the fender against injury by being thrownviolently against the dashboard of the car. A triangular strip G of thesame or similar material is stitched on each side, a little in from theedge, and lies ordinarily folded behind and concealed by the apron. Eachlower outer corn er is made fast to the frame of one of the wings E onthe outside edge at the rear, so that when the wing is extended itcarries the strip with it, as shown by the dotted lines in Figs. 2, 3,and i. Cords 9, attached one to the inner angle of each wing and madefast to a point near the mid-width of each strip G at about themid-height, serve to draw the strips inward into the folded conditionwhen the win gs E are drawn inward.

The hinged joints or knuckles connecting 'the frame C and thefender-bars D are made adjustable, as shown in Fig. 12, to allow thefront end of the fender to be set higher or lower, as may be deemednecessary or expedient. The adjustment is made by a setscrew tappedthrough a lug (Z on the part D striking a surface on the part 0.

Each wheel D maybe raised or lowered by slacking the screw d and slidingthe slotted frames (1 up or down, as required, in the ways cut on theblock (Z on the cross-bar D The points of the hooks B are hinged at l)and held in the upright position by a pin Z), thrust through below thecenter, forming an abutment for a lug b on the movable point, as shownin Figs. 8, 9, and 10.

To remove the fender the motorman or other attendant raises the part D,with its attachments, into an upright position against the frame C. Thisbrings the wheels D in contact with the road-bed, and on removing thepins 1) and turning down the points of the hooks B the whole may berolled away upon the wheels for attachment to another car, or to theopposite end of the same car by a re versal of the steps just described.

II is a cord attached to the fendeli-platform near the front, leading toa point about midway on the bar 0, within easy reach of the motorman,enabling him to fold the fender when it is in danger of collision withvehicles crossing the track or other cars on the same track.

Modifications may be made by any skilled mechanic without departing fromthe spirit of the invention, and the forms and proportions may be variedwithin wide limits.

I prefer, on account of the greater lightness and rigidity of suchconstruction, to use tubes in place of solid rods where such may beemployed, and it will be understood that the rods and bars described inthis specification are intended in practice to be ordinary wrought-irontubing of suitable dimensions.

I claim as my invention- 1. A horizontally moving wing, lying in a planeparallel with the fender platform and pivoted to the latter, incombination therewith and with an arm extending transversely of thetrack in advance of said fender platform, and directly connected to andforming part of said wing adapted to turn the latter outwardly when thearm strikes an object in its path, all arranged to serve with a railroadcar substantially as herein specified.

f2. Arms extending transversely of the track, in combination withhorizontal wings mounted 011 the fender and adapted to be extendedlaterally when either of said arms strikes an object in its path, andwith means as the thimble F and rubber plugs E for holding the arms ineasily broken engagement with each other, substantially as hereinspecified.

3. Arms extending transversely of the track, in combination withhorizontal. win gs mounted on the fender and adapted to be extendedlaterally by the act of striking the arms against an object, and withthe apron G and strips G attached to said wings, and adapted to beextended therewith, all substantially as herein specified.

at. The wings E, turning on the centers (1, carried on the fenderplatform, in combination with the apron Gr, strips G attached to theapron and to the said wings, and with the cords g attached to saidstrips and wings, all arranged to serve substantially as hereinspecified.

5. The frame C, C, and fender platform D, D, hinged together to fold oneupon the other, in combination with. the wheels D carried on the saidplatform, slidingcross-piece B rods 13 and springs B carried by the cartruck, all arranged so that the said wheels perform the double functionof transmitting the shock of impact to the springs and supporting thefender when the latter is folded and detached from the car,substantially as herein specified.

6. The frame (J, O, and fender platform D, D, hinged together to foldone upon the other, in combination with the Wheels D carried on the saidplatform, sliding cross-piece B rods B and springs B carried by the cartruck,

and the detaching hooks 13 carried on the rods and adapted to engage andrelease the said frame, all substantially as herein specified.

7. The frame 0, O, and fender platform D, D, hinged thereto, Wings Epivoted 011 the said platform, transverse arms E connected I 5 to theWings, the apron G and attached strips aid in transferring the Whole,substantially 20 as herein specified.

In testimony that I claim the invention above set forth I have aflixedmy signature in presence of two Witnesses.

JAMES WHEATON MADDEN. lVitnesses J os. G. HUNTINGTON, ALFRED W.HUNTINGTON.

